Vincent Van Loon was a houseboat owner in Amsterdam who was constantly being questioned by tourists about his houseboat and what life was like for him living on it.
So, in 1997 he decided to open a houseboat in Amsterdam to the public to address this curiosity.
Take a peek inside the Maria Hendrika!
She was built in 1914 to haul materials up and down the canals.
In the 1960’s she was converted to a houseboat where people lived until she was opened to the public for tours in 1997. And yep, that’s me, reflected in the mirror.
Holland houseboats have all the comforts of home as you can see, including heating, kitchens, living rooms, bathrooms, bedrooms and decks which function as garden terraces.
There are approximately 3,050 houseboats in Amsterdam with people living onboard, and 100,000 legally occupied houseboats in all of the Netherlands.
Does life aboard a houseboat appeal to you? If it does, and you want to try out living aboard, there are houseboat bed & breakfasts you can stay in to see if you like the lifestyle.
Cheers to you from a cozy and comfortable Amsterdam houseboat~
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I thought that top one was a painting! Beautiful 🙂 I have a friend that want to retire in Amsterdam and live on a houseboat, I hope she does so I can visit!
I hope she does too, so you post about it, and I can share the experience vicariously! <3
🙂 If so you are welcome to visit!
Interesting. I went on a houseboat in London once – the movement of the water made me feel a bit sea sick. Lovely photos
Oh, I am sorry. That doesn’t sound like a positive experience.
It was just odd, that was all. I do get a bit claustrophobic as well which didn’t help
Sounds difficult.
What an interesting look into this houseboat! So wonderful to see a different way of life Cindy! I love these photos, they are so vibrant and colorful! Makes me want to go over there and experience this! Hi in the mirror!:)
Well, I hope you do go and visit and post about it too. I would like to travel virtually with you! <3
So glad you posted this. Felt like I went right along!
It is such a better experience shared! Thanks for coming along~ <3
It does appeal to me. I used to watch MacGyver and for a good part of that show he lived on a houseboat. Also, way back in the late 50s/early 60s, there was Surfside 6, a detective show out of Miami, their offices on a houseboat at that location which I visited once and took a picture of it on our way to the airport. I did have my own sailboat for awhile, a 17-footer with a cabin and 2 berths but in Ottawa, Canada, there are few months of the year that you could live on a boat. I really enjoyed your pictures and it’s something I’d consider doing in Amsterdam. It would make a great base from which to explore the city and surrounding area. Thanks for sharing.
Yes, living on the water has a great deal of appeal, plus you have a moveable home base. Your sailboat sounds like a wonderful memory. We run into people traveling who are sailing the world forever. Love creative peopple who have the courage to live uniquely. I hope you do rent a houseboat or barge boat. You would have a wonderful adventure. Cheers to you and thanks for stopping by~
I could easily live on that boat. Thanks for the post. Be well.
Thanks for stopping by & pleased you like it too~
🙂
I love this houseboat tour, Cindy! It does look cozy and beautiful!
Docked in a main canal, you would have all of Amsterdam in skipping distance! Cheers to you Amy & Happy New Year!
Happy 2016, Cindy!
The location/place in the pictures look like few scene from a movie (Fault in Our Stars). Definitely, I would like to stay over night in the boat.
It would be a super different experience wouldn’t it!
Looks like a cozy spot to live!
I agree and close to everything in Amsterdam.
I’ve always wanted to visit and those types of “river living settings” just aren’t found here in the states!
That is true, not on rivers that I know of at least~
Surprisingly roomy. Wonder if it’s dank?
No it seemed airy and lovely~
Looks cosy, if a bit claustrophobic. 🙂 How do they deal with water and sewage?
It is moored, so one is pumped in and the other out, much like a hooked-up motor home. The moving ones use tanks like moving a motor home.
Thanks for satisfying the inquiring mind!
<3
I’ve always wondered what a houseboat looked like on the inside! Thanks for sharing!
I am always curious about things like this too, so you are most welcome!
Thank you for sharing these houseboats Cindy, I haven’t seen them inside before 😀
It was a first for me too, and I was most curious, so you are more than welcome Irene~
What in the world have you Not experienced? How fun!
Japan is on the bucket list as well as Portugal this year! A customs agent once asked me, “Why are you visiting here?”
I said, “Because it’s beautiful.”
He replied, “There are lots of beautiful places in the world.”
I answered, “I know and I want to see them all!” 😉
Sweet!
<3
This was real neat to see, would I like to live there.
I think it would be wonderful, all of Amsterdam right beside you!
I better stay in the outskirst of Ámsterdam, if I go in I might get the urge to get myself a bit “puff puff the magic dragon” and eventually see other things that are not really there…..
Ah, well, there are always pros and cons. Is this a pro or con???? 😉 😉
Wow that is beautifully decorated!
Yes, it has warmth and charm.
Beautiful photos and houseboat. We have a lot on the river here. I was told once that the 67 non-commercial houseboats were purchased by couples to be permanent accommodation. Now they are all empty apart from 2 where the man alone lives. I wonder if the women had this decor if they would have stuck at it longer?
It maybe something some people do for a discrete period of time, and then move on. Although, I am sure, others, like the man you mention, live permanently. I like the choice and the variety.
You could be right. Perhaps in the past there was a rapid turnover of boats but council has removed the ability to sell the mooring with the boat and as they are scarce it makes it difficult to sell the houseboats anymore.
Yes. I have heard this. Your lot sounds important to keep!
It has charm, albeit its bedraggled, decayed and dilapidated. Especially the FLOORING (Ship planks)
Tiny rooms, but sufficient space to stow.
The Dutch are good
Yes, the Dutch and Netherlands are beautiful~
Beautiful, Cindy <3 It's something different. I like to try new things. I think I would like to stay there for a while 🙂
They have some very upscale houseboats you can stay in as a B&B. This is more of a historical example.
It looks really beautiful, Cindy. I think I would like to try this. 🙂
Of course you would! You are an adventurer and traveler~ <3
Wow! I would love to stay in one of those houseboats. 😊
This is why we get along so well Dor!
Bonsoir
Mon premier passage sur ton blog
Vois-tu il y a des jours sur un simple sourire
On peux rendre la vie plus belle
Si le mien de sourire peux te faire cet effet
Alors je reviendrais encore tant faire
C’est une envie de te faire plaisir et t’offrir du bonheur
Je t’envoie une grosse envolée de bisous d’amitié
Bonne et agréable soirée Bernard
http://img15.hostingpics.net/pics/759446ze54x3ag.gif
Merci beaucoup pour un tel genre et belle commentaire Bernard. Il est merveilleux de vous rencontrer! Soyez bien mon ami et acclamations a vous!
A very nice tour.
Thank you!
Great post! Unique topic and very informative — and great photos, as always, Cindy.
Glad you enjoyed & cheers my friend!
It looks lovely & quaint, yet I know it’s not for me. Great shots, Cindy!
Your feet like the solid ground, I know Resa!
I could definitely see me living in a house boat. Small to me is beautiful. (Remember Matilda?) Did you stay in one Cindy?
I do remember Matilda and I miss her too. Yes, small is beautiful, and spending time on a boat, traveling around Europe would be wonderful. See comment below for great minds thinking alike. I did not stay in one. But now I did google barge rentals in France…….Laughing!
I think you can stay Airbnb https://www.airbnb.com.au/?af=43720035&c=A_TC%3Dfxc2xmc3kc%26G_MT%3Db%26G_CR%3D32239635191%26G_N%3Ds%26G_K%3D%2Bairbnb%26G_P%3D%26G_D%3Dc&gclid=CN6f6LCxm8oCFQwlvQodHq8E7Q&dclid=CIWQhbGxm8oCFVEsvQodIZIEVQ in Holland in a houseboat. Now that would be worth checking out…
It would be a great experience!
That’s so cozy! I am in love with the boat! 🙂
I am in love with people who love the less is more concept of das boat!
True! 🙂
Great shots! What a great idea to open such an attraction for tourists. It looks very comfortable and cozy.
It does doesn’t it as well as creative and different and we both like that. Loved the osprey shots today!
Oh my goodness what fun! I would definitely give it a try. I loved Amsterdam. It’s such a quaint city. I can’t wait to return one day.
I loved seeing you (or part of you) reflected in the mirror. What fun! Looks like you’re having a wonderful time.
Amsterdam, all of The Netherlands, is wonderful to visit. We went twice last year! We are home now, I do hope you return, and soon! There is always something new to see and experience~
Oh, I missed that this was from a prior trip. Your photos are like a mini-vacation through these amazing places.
I love following people’s lives and adventures online too. We can vicariously live multiple lives in different places through blogging!
LIving on a boat has many challenges ( this houseboat looks cozy and like a home), but the best parts would be sunsets and being able to move and wake up in a new place with new adventures just outside…without having to pack!
Interesting post
Moving, waking up in new places, not packing, traveling on the water around Europe. It sounds pretty incredible to me too!
It looks very cozy! So much color! Gorgeous.
You are a woman after my own heart! <3
this looks awesome
It does to me too! Thank you~
welcome!
The narrow boat that Peggy and I piloted for a week through the canals of northern England gave me a great taste for house boat life, although it wasn’t near as luxurious as the one you are showing here, Cindy. I toured one in Amsterdam that was open for public view as well. –Curt
How fun that you and Peggy did this. Did you post photos?
Yes, Cindy, and tried to persuade WP to give me the address. Anyway: “Life on the Trent and Mersey Canal… A Narrow Boat Tour in England” should get you there. –Curt
Will head over today! What a fun experience~
I love it, its so cute!
Some are quite upluxe. This one was more historical. I like it better.
The interior of the houseboat looks beautiful.
Happy New Year!
It has charm, warmth and personality which makes it a winner for me! Happy New Year to Clowie and her humans of course! <3
Ah yes … the beauty of simplicity.
Less, really being more……
Solely out of a spirit international cooperation, and to show how much I admire the Dutch character, I would be willing to live here if given the chance! 🙂 It’s gorgeous and well documented!
You are a noble man! I always knew this about you. 😉 😉
What a gorgeous home! I am enjoying your travels around the world, Cindy. Thank you for sharing them with all of us!
Thank you more for coming along with me!
How fun would it be to rent one and take a vacation cruising up and down the canals? No idea if that is an option, but it would be fun if it is.
It is! You can rent a barge, which is really a small yacht for varying prices, in different countries, most especially France~
I am just amazed how cosy and homely this is. Not at all like hired narrow boats which have the bare necessities.
Yes, plus this is not as luxe as many of the newly refurbished ones, but I like it much more. It has soul~
beautiful!
i often visited friends on their boats
when I lived in Amsterdam.
found them cozy
and chilly 🙂
Cozy, wonderful, chilly, not so much!
I’m amazed by how inviting and cozy the rooms are.
Yes, I loved this too!
Wow. Living the dream.
I love it when people follow their unconventional dreams while they still can!
Thank you for sharing! I don’t know if I would like to live on a house boat always…but for a vacation it would be a lot of fun!
Yes, we are in accordance! <3
Lovely post, Cindy. I’ve taken the houseboat tour in Amsterdam and spent a summer living in an apartment there. You make me want to go back again. 🙂
What a wonderful experience! <3
Every time I visit your blog, I feel like I have been on holiday <3
I am thrilled we get to travel together! <3
Yes Cindy 😀 Thanks so much!
It’s nice to see a glimpse of you, Cindy, behind the camera of course! I’ve always thought houseboats were the coolest, although I have only seen them in and around Seattle, not in Amsterdam. As a newish RV’er, I guess that makes sense. Great post, thank you!
I love houseboats too. I love being on the water and moving around and getting your own private place. I have only done it in the US in lakes though. I’d love to do it again.
So colorful and cozy. I’d love to spend a couple weeks there– are there Air BnB houseboats??
Thanks, Cindy, for taking us to Amsterdam– you’ve find the most fascinating side of it all. Love your blog.
Ask and you shall receive! Check out: https://www.airbnb.com/s/Amsterdam–Netherlands?type=boat. Now you have made me want to do this!!! 😉
What fun!! I’m on it. But I don’t know how soon I can coax my husband into a trans Atlantic trip! thanks Cindy– you are so kind! xo
I want your [travel] life – thanks for taking me with you in your pictures. I have been meaning to get over here to be SURE you knew that yours is one of those “followed” photo-blogger I was NOT speaking about in a recent Grump.
xx,
mgh
(Madelyn Griffith-Haynie – ADDandSoMuchMore dot com)
-ADD Coach Training Field founder/ADD Coaching co-founder-
“It takes a village to transform a world!”
Don’t worry I won’t look. I avoid rants. Wonderful to hear from you Madelyn. I was happy to see a post from you in my reader yesterday as I haven’t seen any for awhile. I think a lot of posts go missing in my reader as I have to go search for people when I realize I haven’t seen a post from them in ages which is concerning.
My Monday Grumpy “rants” are more like ADD/EFD awareness education (with an edge lol) – but I bail too when I run across mean posts.
It’s simply that the heading “Hatin’ on the SlideShows” was above the heading “NOT Hatin’ on the Photo Bloggers” and I would have been dismayed if you had read down to the first and bailed.
xx,
mgh
I don’t bail unless the ship is actually sinking! 😉 No worries, your ship is floating along quite nicely! <3
Amazing how roomy it seems on the inside.
This were cargo hauling boats originally, so they are commodious on the inside, with nice flat deck/roof on the outside. Quite spacious~